Saturday, 11 June 2016

BJP plays down buzz over projecting Rajnath Singh as CM face for UP

Playing down all speculations
over projecting Home Minister Rajnath Singh as the face of the BJP in
Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the party said on Friday that the party ranks
were full of capable leaders.

There has been a lot of buzz over the chief
ministerial candidate for the crucial polls and Singh, the last BJP chief
minister in Uttar Pradesh, is being seen as a “natural” face by many due to his
experience. The top party leaders, however, have maintained a studied silence
over the issue.

Party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi told
at a press conference, “We have many capable leaders,” parrying questions over
the issue.

“Whenever a decision is taken, parliamentary
board will convey it to you,” he said.

The party’s comments came on a day when Singh
also insisted that there is no dearth of capable people in the party as he
chose to downplay talks about him.

“UP mein kabil chehron ke koi kami nahi
hai (There is no dearth of capable faces in UP),” he said in Lucknow when asked
about BJP’s chief ministerial candidate for the 2017 Assembly polls.

Singh in the past has said he was not keen on
returning to state politics. However, it is almost certain that he will play a
prominent role during the campaign.

Party President Amit Shah had recently said that
the BJP was yet to decide whether a chief ministerial candidate should be
projected or not.

Trivedi, though, pointed out that Singh after
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah had campaigned most in Assam and Bihar
polls as well.

Though its success in Assam has fuelled talks within
the party that the formula of projecting a face will be repeated in Uttar
Pradesh too, the lack of a candidate with appeal across the country’s most
populous state can be a hindrance.

A BJP leader also pointed out that it has done
poorly in the last three polls despite projecting a CM pick, Singh in 2002,
Kalyan Singh in 2007 and Uma Bharti in 2012.

Bharti was not officially announced as a
candidate and was part of a quartet, including Singh, Kalraj Mishra and Surya
Pratap Shahi. But her OBC credentials and the party’s decision to task her with
reviving the party in the state had created the impression of she being in
charge of its campaign.

Many believe that the party needs to project a
leader to counter Mulayam Singh Yadav-led SP and Mayawati-led BSP, two leaders
with wide appeal.